Born: October 4, 1955 – Auckland
Test record: 18 Tests (1975, 1977, 1979, 1983-85) – 13 goals (26 points)
Tours: 1975 World Championship Series, 1977 World Cup, 1985 tour of Britain and France

A champion forward from one of New Zealand’s great rugby league families, Dane Sorensen was an ultra-talented and rugged enforcer in a decade-long Kiwis tenure, and a trailblazer and record-breaker in the Sydney premiership.

The nephew of former Kiwis Bill and Dave Sorensen, front-row prodigy Dane was playing senior club football at 17, represented New Zealand Māori at 18, and broke into the Auckland and New Zealand teams in 1975 as a 19-year-old alongside younger brother Kurt. He kicked six goals on Test debut in a 27-0 win over France and another four in his second match in a 17-all draw with Great Britain during the World Championship Series.

Sorensen helped Mount Wellington to its first Fox Memorial triumph in 1976 before joining Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Kurt would follow in 1979). He became the first player to be brought back from Sydney to play for the Kiwis in 1977 – facing Australia in a World Cup match – but a broken jaw ruled him out of the remainder of that campaign.

At the forefront of Cronulla’s rise up the ladder in 1978, suspension denied Sorensen a place in its run to the grand final. He played two Tests in the home series against Great Britain in 1979 – his last matches for New Zealand for four years as the Sharks repeatedly refused mid-season clearances for international duty.

Sorensen’s form in the premiership underlined what the Kiwis were missing, named Dally M Prop of the Year in 1981 and dusting off his goalkicking boots to rack up more than 100 points two seasons later following the departure of prolific scorer Steve Rogers.

Dane and Kurt returned to the Test arena with a bang, however, playing key roles in New Zealand’s drought-breaking 19-12 victory over Australia at Lang Park in 1983, the 3-0 whitewash of Great Britain in 1984, and the iconic series against Australia in 1985 that culminated in an 18-0 triumph at Carlaw Park in the third Test.

Sorensen rounded out his international career by playing all five Tests on the Kiwis’ 1985 tour of Great Britain and France.

Returning to Cronulla after a one-season stint with Eastern Suburbs in 1984, Sorensen was an engine-room mainstay for a high-flying Sharks side that qualified for the finals in 1988-89. The warhorse became the first non-Australian to reach the 200-game mark in first grade, while he passed Greg Pierce’s appearances record for Cronulla during his 1989 swansong, finishing with 216 for the club.

Sorensen was inducted into the NZRL Legends of League in 2024.